The judge in Phoenix refused to put on hold her order requiring the phone records of the Arizona Republican Party leader to be turned over to the House committee.
The state GOP chair did not have to prove that she would suffer irreparable harm if congressional investigators got the records. If investigators were able to learn who she spoke with, her First Amendment rights would not be affected.
It was found that Ward's concern was speculative and that disclosures made during oral argument were questionable.
She noted that Ward's lawyers pointed out at the Tuesday hearing that she had written a book and filmed multiple videos of her actions and posted them on the internet.
Ms. Ward is concerned that her communications will be chilled by the phone company's possible disclosure of who she spoke with.
The Capitol attack is being investigated by the House committee. Congress was set to certify the results of the election in favor of Biden when Ward was pushing for the election to be overturned.
If Trump had won Arizona, the Wards would have voted for him in the electoral college. Despite Biden winning the state, both signed a document pretending to be Arizona's true electors.
During Tuesday's hearing, the attorney representing the congressional committee pointed out that Ward had refused to answer questions during a deposition because she didn't want to incriminate herself.
Ward's attorney asked the judge to temporarily block the subpoena. The appeals court won't get to the case until after the congress ends in January of 2023.
Ward promotes the false claim that the election was stolen from him. According to text messages released by the county, in the days after the election, she pressured Republicans on the board to investigate claims of fraud before the results were certified.
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